Clothes drying rack



United States Patent US. Cl. 211-86 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSUREClothes drying rack comprising a single elongated rodlike unitary memberwith a recess defined by a concave portion at one end thereof to receivethereln the conventional shower curtain supporting rod. The memberdefining the rod is of such length as to permit the opposite end thereofto rest against and be supported by the wall parallel with the showercurtain supporting rod. The unitary member defining the drying rack 18sufficiently long so that the end thereof, remote from the end engagingthe shower curtain supporting-rod, Wlll be wedged against the wall'at apoint slightly above the level of the rod or at a substantially higherlever depending on the spacing between the wall and shower curtainsupporting rod. The top edge of the unitary member is provided withserrations or notches to mdivldually receive hangers for clothes to bedried, so the hangers w1ll remain in a predetermined position regardlessof the angle at which the unitary elongated member 1s disposed.

The present invention relates to a clothes drying rack. Specifically,the present invention is concerned with a clothes drying rack comprisingan elongated unitary member having one end thereof adapted to besupported by the conventional shower curtain supporting rod and theother end supported by mere engagement with the wall parallel to theshower curtain supporting rod and directly opposite the same.

It has been common practice for many years to use a bathroom andparticularly the area over the bathtub or shower stall as a drying areafor clothes. Various racks have been employed to support the clothesover such a tub, so that any drip from the clothes will fall into thebathtub or similar area. Heretofore any racks of this nature have beencomplicated, expensive, and consume a considerable amount of space asfar as storage thereof is concerned when not in use.

Since the advent of the so-called drip-dry clothes, there has been evena greater demand for a simple supporting rack for supporting clothesover a bathtub for drying purposes. It would be desirable to providesuch a rack in the form of a single unitary elongated member which canbe stored in a minimum of space and which can be positioned in a clothessupporting position with a minimum of effort on the part of the user. Itwould furthermore be desirable to provide such a clothes drying rackwhich is universally applicable to any bathroom having the conventionalshower curtain supporting rod, or similar rod associated with thebathtub or shower stall regardless of the dimensions of the particularinstallation.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide aclothes drying rack in the form of a single, unitary, elongated memberwhich is simple and inexpensive, foolproof in operation, which can bestored in a minimum of space and which may be rendered effective tosupport clothes over a bathtub in a minimum of time.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an improvedclothes drying rack which is supported on one end by the shower curtainsupporting rod and on the other end by the wall opposite and parallelwith the shower curtain supporting rod and which is adapted to fit inany installation without any adjustment or manipulation with respectthereto.

Still another object of the present invention resides in a singleunitary clothes supporting rack adapted to be disposed at various angleswith respect to the horizontal and being fully effective at any of theseangular positions to support clothes for drying purposes over theconventional bathtub or within the conventional shower stall.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent as the following description proceeds, and the features ofnovelty which characterize the invention will be pointed out withparticularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of thisspecification.

For a better understanding of the present invention reference should behad to the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a typical bathroom showingthe clothes drying rack of the present invention supporting clothes fordrying over the bathtub or other liquid holding unit conventionallyfound in such installations;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the unitary clothes drying rack of thepresent invention;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 44 of FIG. 3; and

FIGS. 5 and 6 are front elevational views, somewhat schematic, showinghow the unitary drying rack of the present invention is readilyadaptable for use in different situations.

Briefly, the present invention is concerned with a unitary elongatedrodlike member, preferably molded from a suitable plastic having arecess defined by a concave surface at one end thereof to readilyreceive therein the conventional shower curtain supporting rod andhaving along the top edge a plurality of notches, or serrations, toreceive clothes hangers in predetermined spaced relationship. Theunitary member is of such length as to be longer than the conventionalmaximum spacing between shower curtain supporting rods and the wallsopposite and parallel thereto, so that the end of such member oppositethe concave end may be supported by such wall, the particular angle ofthe member with respect to the horizontal depending upon the spacingbetween such shower curtain supporting rod and said wall.

Referring now to the drawing, there is illustrated in FIG. 1 a portionof a conventional bathroom having either a shower stall or a bathtub,the latter not being shown but being the conventional bathtub or showerstall. As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawing, the bathroomcomprises a recessed area defined by a tiled wall 10 disposed at a rightangle to another tiled wall 11. A third wall (not shown) parallel withwall 10 and perpendicular to wall 11 may also be provided to completethe recess for the bathtub or shower stall. The conventional ceiling forthe bathtub or shower stall recess is illustrated at 12. Suitablysupported by one or more walls, such as 10, is the conventional showercurtain supporting rod 13 which is illustrated as having one end thereofsupported, as indicated at 14, by the wall 10. The other end of the rodwould be supported in conventional fashion by similar means either to awall parallel with the wall 10 or by the wall 11 if the rod 13 curvesaround to support a shower curtain which closes two ends of a bathtub ina well-known manner. The particular construction of the walls 10 and 11and the supporting means for the rod 13 form no part of the presentinvention, but are described merely for illustrative purposes.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided an elongatedunitary member 15 which may be formed of any suitable material.Preferably the member 15 is molded from a suitable plastic so as toprovide a smooth, rigid, lightweight member which can be molded in avery inexpensive manner. It should be understood that the member 15might also be formed of metal, wood, or similar rigid material, ifdesired. In order to provide a rigid member, while still providing alightweight construction using a minimum amount of material, the unitarymember 15 is preferably provided with grooves 16 on either side thereofto define a sort of I-beam, as best shown in FIG. 4 of the drawing.

So that the single unitary member 15 may readily be supported to performa clothes drying function, one end thereof is provided with asemicircular recess or concave surface 17 of a size and shape as readilyto receive therein the conventional shower curtain supporting rod 13 asbest shown in FIGS. 1, 5 and 6 of the drawing. The other end of therodlike member is preferably provided with a curved or rounded surface18 to readily engage the wall 11 opposite to and parallel with theshower curtain supporting rod 13. The length of the unitary member 15may vary, if desired, but in a device built in accordance with thepresent invention, it was found that a length of approximatelythirty-one inches measured from the bottom of the recess 17 wassatisfactory for almost universal application.

When the spacing between the shower curtain supporting rod 13 and theopposite wall 11 is a maximum, the elongated member 15 of the presentinvention will assume a position such as shown in FIG. 6 of the drawingwith the member 15 almost assuming a horizontal position. On the otherhand, when the spacing between the shower curtain supporting rod 13 andthe opposite wall 11 is substantially less the elongated unitary member15 assumes a position represented by FIG. 5 of the drawing at asubstantial angle to the horizontal. In either of the extreme positionsshown in FIGS. 5 and 6 of the drawing, and in any intermediate positionsthereof, the elongated unitary member of the present invention is in anequally good position to support clothes hangers as will become apparentfrom the ensuing description.

For the purpose of properly spacing clothes and specifically the hangerssupporting the clothes on the elongated member 15 of the presentinvention when positioned as disclosed in FIGS. 1, 5 and 6 of thedrawing, the top surface thereof is provided with integral projections15a of somewhat sawtooth form thereby defining a plurality of notches20. These notches will assure that the clothes hangers remain in theparticular notch in which they are placed, particularly when the angulardisposition of the member 15 is such as indicated in FIG. 5 of thedrawing. In FIG. 1 there is illustrated by way of example a pair ofhangers 21 on each of which is supported a garment designated as 22 and23, respectively.

In view of the detailed description included above, the operation of thedrying rack of the present invention will readily be understood by thoseskilled in the art. It will be apparent that the single rodlike member15 comprising the entire clothes drying rack can be stored in anycorner. This member 15 can be employed in any bathroom where there is ashower curtain supporting rod parallel to an opposite wall so that oneend of the rack can be applied to the rod and the rack then pivotedabout the fulcrum of the rod until it engages the opposite wall, asshown in FIGS. 5 and 6 of the drawing. The spacing between the rod, suchas 13, and the opposite wall 11, will determine the angular dispositionof the unitary member relative to the horizontal. It will furthermore beapparent that the rack of the present invention can comprise a simplemolding which is very inexpensive and can be universally applied byanyone. It will be understoodthatany suitable resin may be used fromwhich to mold the unitary member 15. One such resin is cellulose,acetate butyrate.

While there has been illustrated and described a particular embodimentof the present invention, it will be understood that changes andmodifications may occur to those skilled in the art, and it is,therefore, contemplated by the appended claims to cover all such.changes and modifications as fall withinthe true spirit: and scope ofthe present invention. v

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent ofthe Unitedv States is:

1. A clothes drying-rack comprising an elongated substantially straightunitary member having a concave recess defined inone end, said memberhaving a length greater than the maximum spacing between. theconventional shower curtain supporting rod and the wall 0pposite to saidrod and parallel with the longitudinal axis of said member when saidother end engages said wall, other end for engaging said wall wherebysaid member is supported by said rod on one end and said wall at theother. end, and notches along the top edge of said member to hold meansfor supporting clothes to be dried in spaced relationship regardless ofthe angular disposition of said member when said other end engages said.wall, said notches being shaped to prevent said means for supportingclothesto be dried from moving toward the end of said unitary memberhaving saidconcave recess therein. r

2. The clothes drying rack of claim 1 wherein said member is molded froma resin.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1/1929 Davis 21'1- 106 XR2,452,936 11/1948 Knobloch. 1 2,895,618 7/1959 Nathan' 211123 2,981,4184/1961 Bradley 211- 86 3,019,909 I 2/1962 Churchill 211-86 3,025,9693/1962 Daley 2111- 86 3,163,295 12/1964 Standard 2 11-86 FOREIGN PATENTS1,215,498 '1 1/1959 "France.

206,394 11/1939 Switzerland.

ROY D. FRAZIER, Primary Examiner ABRAHAM FRANKEL, Assistant Examiner Us.(:1. X.R., 211-100, 171 p 3 33 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATEOF CORRECTION e t N 3,471,031 Dated October 7, 1969 flx) Grace A. Co lanIt is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent andthat said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

2011mm 4, line 28, delete "member when said other end engages saidwall," and substitute therefor; --rod, said member having a roundedsurface at its--.

5162MB AND SEMFI? :JEL; 2 31959 (SEAL) Attcst:

wmmm E. sown-ER, .m. Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents

